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"Etihad Rail has cut about 30 per cent of its workforce, as Abu Dhabi seeks to trim costs after the slump in the oil.

“We have introduced a restructuring initiative across the company to further streamline our operations as well as our internal procedures and processes,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement, without disclosing the number of dismissals. “These changes involve a number of staffing adjustments, as we move towards a flatter management structure.”

The Dh40 billion ($11 billion) Etihad Rail network, which will provide both freight and passenger services when completed, will eventually link the six Gulf nations from the UAE to Saudi Arabia through Ghweifat in the west and Oman through Al Ain in the east. Etihad Rail is expected to start awarding contracts for Stage 2 of the project, a 628-kilometre stretch connecting Mussafah, Khalifa Port and Jebel Ali port as well as to Saudi and Oman."

"The lifting of the international sanctions against Iran following the announcement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Tehran had complied with the deal aimed at scaling down its nuclear programme has been greeted with varying degrees of jubilation and scepticism in the region.

For the Iranians, it was a very special day.

“I thank God for this blessing and bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran. Congrats on this glorious victory!” Iranian president Hasan Rouhani posted on his Twitter account.

"Middle East stock markets plunged to new multi-year lows on Sunday, with Saudi Arabia tumbling more than 5 percent, as a fresh slide of oil prices and declines in global equities triggered panic selling.

Many institutional investors were taken aback by the extent of Sunday's losses in the Gulf, the almost indiscriminate tone of the selling, and the lack of buying support in the market even when valuations reached low levels.

Sentiment was hit hard by Brent oil's 6 percent drop on Friday to settle below $29 a barrel, bringing its decline for the week to 13 percent. Saturday's lifting of sanctions on Iran could in the short term push oil down further, as additional Iranian supply arrives in the global market."

"A British asset manager and a Tehran firm formally launched a fund on Sunday, the day after world powers lifted sanctions against Iran, to invest foreign money in Iranian securities, aiming to reach a size of $100 million this year.

"We see tremendous opportunities in Iran's equities market and this is the first European Union-regulated fund available to capture them," Ramin Rabii, chief executive of Iranian investment group Turquoise Partners, said by telephone.

He added that other firms were laying plans to create funds for foreigners in Iran as the lifting of sanctions opened up a stock market with a value of around $80 billion at the free market exchange rate - one of the last big unexploited opportunities for global portfolio investors."

"A purchase of more than 100 aircraft from Europe's Airbus may be one of Iran's first big deals in a trade and investment boom that could reshape the economy of the Middle East.

"The legs of Iran’s economy are now free of the chains of sanctions, and it’s time to build and grow,” President Hassan Rouhani tweeted on Sunday, a day after world powers lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Hours earlier, his transport minister Abbas Akhoondi told the Tasnim news agency that Iran intended to buy 114 civil aircraft from Airbus (AIR.PA) - a deal that could be worth more than $10 billion at catalog prices."

"As Iran emerges from a decade of international sanctions, its Gulf Arab rivals are facing their toughest economic predicament since the global financial crisis.
Governments across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council are taking unprecedented measures to counter the slump in oil prices, curtailing some of the world’s most generous welfare systems to plug widening budget deficits. In some countries, contractors are facing delays in government payments, while companies are reducing their workforces to trim costs.
Every major stock index in the Middle East, with the exception of Tehran’s, plunged on Sunday as the prospect of Iran adding to an oil supply glut pummeled markets already reeling from falling crude prices and a global sell-off in equities. With oil priced below $30 a barrel, governments may have to eat further into benefits that citizens have enjoyed for decades -- at a time of growing regional turmoil and a proxy confrontation with Iran from Syria to Yemen."

"A purchase of more than 100 aircraft from Europe's Airbus may be one of Iran's first big deals in a trade and investment boom that could reshape the economy of the Middle East.

"The legs of Iran’s economy are now free of the chains of sanctions, and it’s time to build and grow,” President Hassan Rouhani tweeted on Sunday, a day after world powers lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Hours earlier, his transport minister Abbas Akhoondi told the Tasnim news agency that Iran intended to buy 114 civil aircraft from Airbus (AIR.PA) - a deal that could be worth more than $10 billion at catalog prices.

"Saudi oil minister Ali Al Naimi said on Sunday that it would take “some time” to restore stability to the global oil market but he remained optimistic about the future.

“As you know, the oil market has witnessed over its long history, periods of instability, severe price fluctuations, and petro-economic cycles,” Mr Al Naimi said in a speech at an energy event in Riyadh attended by the Mexican president and energy minister.

“This is one of them. Market forces, as well as the cooperation among the producing nations, always lead to the restoration of stability. This, however, takes some time,” he said."

"In the space of 36 hours, eight ships were hit in the Arabian Gulf. A Japanese tanker containing oil from the UAE was attacked by Iranian gunboats, and two ships were struck by Iraqi air attack.

In response to the escalation, war risk insurance premiums jumped 50 per cent, France sent three minesweepers to the Gulf of Oman, and the US president was asked if he would invoke the War Powers Act last used in 1941 weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, after which the US entered the Second World War.

This upsurge in fighting in the Gulf came in 1987, during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict. Now the latest Saudi-Iranian rift has raised concerns that the proxy conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen might spill over into direct fighting or threats to energy infrastructure. Analysts have pointed to the perennial Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a third of seaborne oil trade."

"The untangling of the world's most complex regime of sanctions starts now.
The European Union terminates all its nuclear-related economic sanctions including an embargo on buying Iranian crude oil, but more importantly, ends restrictions on Iranian trade, shipping and insurance.
"This is a day we were awaiting for years. There will be big changes," says Michael Tockuss, managing director of the German-Iranian chamber of commerce.
"We will also get some 300 Iranian individuals and companies off the (EU) sanctions list. Up to now, we couldn't do a single business transaction with them, not even selling bread or biscuits.""

"The introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the UAE is a step in the right direction for the country’s economy and an inevitable transition, analysts said.

Alp Eke, senior economist at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said that such initiatives like implementing taxes are becoming “necessary” especially at a time when plunging oil prices highlight the importance of diversification.

“The UAE is expected to register a budget deficit of 5-6 per cent of [gross domestic product] in 2015, and revenue-increasing measures such as subsidy removal and taxes are necessary. The UAE must diversify its revenue resources,” he told Gulf News."

"Saudi Arabia's stock market plunged more than 6 percent early on Sunday in response to a fresh tumble of oil and global equity prices, while Egypt's market also continued to fall sharply.

The Saudi index was down 6.5 percent in the first 15 minutes of trade after Brent oil slumped more than 6 percent to settle below $29 a barrel on Friday, capping a 13 percent decline for the week.

Riyadh has been putting in place austerity policies designed to stabilise government finances in an era of cheap oil, but analysts believe its budget calculations were based on an average oil price of about $40."

"One of the world’s hardest-to-enter stock markets just became more accessible to international investors.
As financial sanctions are eased against Iran, foreigners can enter a bourse in Tehran with almost as many listed companies as Istanbul. Inflows may reach as much as $1 billion after six to eight months, estimated Reza Soltanzadeh, a founding partner at ACL Assets Management, an investment firm that focuses on Iran."

"Stocks across the Middle East tumbled as the easing of sanctions against Iran raised the prospect of a surge in oil supplies to a market already reeling from the lowest prices in more than a decade. Shares in Tehran gained for a second day.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dropped more than 7 percent to its lowest level since March 2011. Dubai’s DFM General Index lost 5.2 percent as of 1:12 p.m local time, the biggest loss in five months. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index headed toward a so-called bear market. Iran’s TEDPIX Index climbed 0.9 percent, according to data on the bourse’s website, extending Saturday’s 2.1 percent advance.
Iran, home to almost 10 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, is starting preparations to boost exports after the United Nation’s nuclear agency on Saturday said the country has complied with the terms of an international agreement to curb its nuclear program. That threatens to put further pressure on prices, hurting the oil-dependent economies of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council."